[8] The debut of the magazine coincided with the rapid expansion of the New Zealand economy that occurred from 1984, following the election of the Fourth Labour Government, which implemented widespread neoliberal deregulation and economic reform.
The increased access to imported luxury goods made Metro magazine an attractive media environment for advertisers.
From Metro 's ninth issue in March 1982 until 2002, the magazine featured an influential gossip column called Felicity Ferret.
While multiple writers were known to have written for the column over the years, after 1983 the Ferret was suspected to be largely the work of a former model and notorious Auckland socialite, Judith Baragwanath.
[11][9] Metro magazine's success led to the launch of a sister title, North and South, edited by Robyn Langwell.
A third title, the women's interest magazine More, was launched before the stable was bought by ACP Media, an Australian publishing consortium.
The magazine was relaunched as a large format glossy title while led by Nicola Legat, a long-time contributing journalist.
Quaintance left in June 2007 to return to the Sydney Morning Herald and the long-serving deputy Bevan Rapson was appointed acting editor.